Day 23
Keeping up with these posts has been just as challenging as the cooking! Its like a diary I have to write in every day about my food. Breakfast was powdered milk and cereal...I'm losing that breakfast spark...hopefully it comes back to me. Today, my friend Nikki brought a bag of plump, red tomatoes to work for me from her garden (pictures of this amazing garden to follow soon). My grand plan is to whip up a jar of delicious salsa for Patrick's birthday, along with homemade ravioli using Nikki's pasta making set. We'll see how these things pan out. If I can manage all of this, along with the ice cream machine, I'm going to win 'housewife of the year.' In exchange for the tomatoes, I will be Photoshopping Nikki & her dog's face in weird photos & printing them as Christmas cards for her to give out.
Lunch and Dinner were both leftovers. So maybe I'm not exactly 'housewife of the year' yet, but at least dinner was on the table. Look past the fact that it was served in a leftover container...okay....look past the fact that I told Patrick where to find the leftover container in the fridge when he asked about dinner. This meal thing is a gradual process.....
Day 24
More milk and cereal for Breakfast. I forgot to make Lunch again. I know, I know, I'm a mess. Patrick was lucky enough to have free food at work (its for the volunteers, but he was desperate) and I had to break out my 'emergency lunch kit'. At work, in the darkest corner of my locker are an instant oatmeal packet, itty bitty bag of granola, and a spork hiding in an old coffee mug. They've been there at least two years, no joke. I had to wash a layer of dust out of the mug before using it. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. No expiration date could be found on that oatmeal, but I suppose I prefer it that way: what I don't know won't hurt me. The cup actually looks kind of cute, don't you think? Its like a little gift basket. This could actually be a nice gift idea: emergency work lunches for lazy friends. Perfect.
Dinner, on the other hand, was magnificent, not to brag or anything. Utilizing Grandma Maxine's gift of veggies, I made vegetarian fajitas (bell peppers and onion sauted with a generic fajita seasoning packet in tortillas), Lazy Girl Bean Dip, and Non-traditional Mexican Street Vendor Corn.
One of my favorite foods to gorge on at other people's parties is the layer dip. I served mine with chips from last week's Family Fare haul.
I've never looked up a bean dip recipe before, and maybe all of them are as low-effort as mine, but its pretty basic so I named it Lazy Girl Layer Dip.
Ingredients:
1 16oz. can of re-fried beans (the regular kind has lard in the ingredient list. For vegetarian, buy the fat free kind)
12oz. of sour cream
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 small can of black olives (buy the minced olives if you're feeling extra lazy)
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 small tomato, diced
1 small green onion, diced
9'x9' glass baking dish, or any other clear container to show off the layers and look fancy
Directions:
Scoop the beans out of the can and into the dish, just like that: no heating or mixing required.
Spread sour cream as the next layer.
Sprinkle about half the taco seasoning packet evenly over the sour cream. I think people usually mix it in, but you don't need to, no one will know.
Spread the cheddar cheese on top to cover seasoning.
Toss on olives, tomato, and green onion and serve with chips.
Let me tell you a ridiculous story about this corn: one day, I was consumed by pure desire as I watched someone devour Mexican Street Vendor Corn on a cooking show. I found myself a recipe (look at traditional recipe here) , but I needed cojita cheese and lime, which I didn't have. Soooooo.....I made it anyway without the cheese, and I used paprika to add the red color. I make this all the time. DO NOT make this if your dinner guests have ever been to Mexico: You will disappoint them. But, if you want an interesting Mexican-ish side dish, this will do the job.
Ingredients (makes 4 servings):
2 ears of corn
spray butter
mayonnaise (I know, it sounds gross, but its in the real recipe)
paprika
4 bamboo skewers
Directions:
Cut the ears of corn in half, push bamboo skewers into center and boil.
Spray corn with butter spray.
Using a table knife, spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on the corn, sprinkle with paprika.
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